A Tale of Two Cities — Page 1
The Mail
La Malle-poste
It was the Dover road that lay, on a Friday night late in November, before the first of the persons with whom this history has business.
C'était la route de Douvres qui s'étendait, un vendredi soir à la fin de novembre, devant le premier des personnages avec lesquels cette histoire a affaire.
The Dover road lay, as to him, beyond the Dover mail, as it lumbered up Shooter's Hill.
La route de Douvres s'étendait, en ce qui le concernait, au-delà de la malle-poste de Douvres, tandis que celle-ci gravissait lourdement Shooter's Hill.
He walked up hill in the mire by the side of the mail, as the rest of the passengers did; not because they had the least relish for walking exercise, under the circumstances, but because the hill, and the harness, and the mud, and the mail, were all so heavy, that the horses had three times already come to a stop, besides once drawing the coach across the road, with the mutinous intent of taking it back to Blackheath.
Il montait la côte dans la boue à côté de la malle-poste, comme le faisaient les autres passagers ; non pas qu'ils eussent le moindre goût pour la marche à pied dans ces circonstances, mais parce que la côte, et le harnais, et la boue, et la malle-poste, étaient tous si lourds que les chevaux s'étaient déjà arrêtés trois fois, sans compter qu'une fois ils avaient tiré la voiture en travers de la route, avec l'intention séditieuse de la ramener à Blackheath.
Reins and whip and coachman and guard, however, in combination, had read that article of war which forbade a purpose otherwise strongly in favour of the argument, that some brute animals are endued with Reason; and the team had capitulated and returned to their duty.
Les rênes et le fouet et le cocher et le garde, cependant, agissant de concert, avaient fait respecter cet article de guerre qui interdisait un dessein par ailleurs fortement favorable à l'argument selon lequel certains animaux brutes sont doués de Raison ; et l'attelage avait capitulé et repris son devoir.
With drooping heads and tremulous tails, they mashed their way through the thick mud, floundering and stumbling between whiles, as if they were falling to pieces at the larger joints.
La tête pendante et la queue frémissante, ils se frayaient péniblement un chemin à travers la boue épaisse, pataugeant et trébuchant par moments, comme s'ils se désarticulaient aux grandes jointures.
As often as the driver rested them and brought them to a stand, with a wary "Wo-ho! so-ho-then!" the near leader violently shook his head and everything upon it--like an unusually emphatic horse, denying that the coach could be got up the hill.
Chaque fois que le conducteur les laissait souffler et les arrêtait, avec un prudent « Ho donc ! tout doux ! », le cheval de tête du côté intérieur secouait violemment la tête et tout ce qui s'y trouvait — comme un cheval d'une véhémence peu commune, niant que la voiture pût gravir la côte.
Vocabulary
- Malle
- Trunk or mail coach carrying passengers and post
- poste
- Mail service or post office
- était
- Past tense of 'être'; was
- route
- Road or route used for travel
- Douvres
- French name for the English city Dover
- étendait
- Stretched or extended across a distance
- vendredi
- Friday, the sixth day of the week
- soir
- Evening, the latter part of the day
- fin
- End or close of a period or event
- novembre
- November, the eleventh month of the year
- devant
- In front of; before something or someone
- premier
- First in order, rank, or importance
- personnages
- Characters or persons in a story or play
- lesquels
- Relative pronoun meaning 'which' or 'whom' (plural masculine)
- histoire
- Story or history being narrated
- affaire
- Business, matter, or affair to deal with
- concernait
- Concerned or related to something or someone
- delà
- Beyond a certain point or limit
- malle
- Mail coach or large trunk for luggage
- tandis
- Used in 'tandis que' meaning 'while' or 'whereas'
- celle
- Demonstrative pronoun meaning 'this one' (feminine)
- gravissait
- Was climbing laboriously up a steep slope
- lourdement
- Heavily, with great weight or effort
- montait
- Was going up or climbing
- côte
- Hill, slope, or rib; here meaning hillside
- boue
- Mud, wet dirty earth on a road
- côté
- Side or direction next to something
- faisaient
- Were doing or were making (imperfect tense)
- autres
- Others, the remaining people or things
- passagers
- Passengers traveling in a vehicle
- eussent
- Subjunctive imperfect of 'avoir'; had (they)
- moindre
- Slightest, least, or smallest in degree
- goût
- Taste, liking, or fondness for something
- marche
- Walk, march, or step; walking on foot
- pied
- Foot; 'à pied' means on foot, walking
- circonstances
- Circumstances, conditions surrounding a situation
- harnais
- Harness, equipment used to control draft animals
- étaient
- Were; imperfect tense of 'être' (plural)
- tous
- All, every one without exception
- lourds
- Heavy in weight; plural of 'lourd'
- chevaux
- Horses; plural of 'cheval'
- déjà
- Already, before a specific moment in time
- arrêtés
- Stopped, halted; past participle of 'arrêter'
- fois
- Times, occurrences; 'trois fois' means three times
- sans
- Preposition meaning 'without'
- compter
- To count; to take into account
- avaient
- Had; imperfect tense of 'avoir' (plural)
- tiré
- Pulled or drawn; past participle of 'tirer'
- voiture
- Car or carriage used for transportation
- travers
- Across or through; used in 'à travers'
- intention
- Intention or plan to do something
- séditieuse
- Seditious, rebellious against authority or order
- ramener
- To bring back to a previous place
- rênes
- Reins used to guide and control horses
- fouet
- Whip used to drive horses forward
- cocher
- Coachman who drives a horse-drawn carriage
- garde
- Guard who protects passengers or cargo
- cependant
- However, yet, or nevertheless
- agissant
- Acting; present participle of 'agir'
- concert
- Agreement; 'de concert' means in unison
- fait
- Made or done; past participle of 'faire'
- respecter
- To respect or enforce compliance with rules
- article
- Article, clause, or item in an agreement
- guerre
- War, armed conflict between groups or nations
- interdisait
- Forbade or prohibited something (imperfect tense)
- dessein
- Design, plan, or deliberate intention
- ailleurs
- Elsewhere; 'par ailleurs' means moreover or besides
- fortement
- Strongly, firmly, with great force
- favorable
- Favorable, supportive, or advantageous to something
- argument
- Argument or reasoning put forward in debate
- selon
- According to, based on a particular view
- lequel
- Relative pronoun meaning 'which' or 'who' (masculine)
- certains
- Certain, some particular ones among many
- animaux
- Animals; plural of 'animal'
- brutes
- Brutes or beasts lacking reason or refinement
- doués
- Gifted or endowed with a quality or ability
- Raison
- Reason, rational faculty of thought
- attelage
- Team of harnessed horses pulling a vehicle
- avait
- Had; third person singular imperfect of 'avoir'
- capitulé
- Surrendered or yielded after resistance
- repris
- Resumed or taken back; past participle of 'reprendre'
- devoir
- Duty or obligation; also verb meaning 'must'
- tête
- Head of a person or animal
- pendante
- Hanging down, drooping in a tired manner
- queue
- Tail of an animal; also a line of people
- frémissante
- Trembling or quivering with emotion or effort
- frayaient
- Were making or clearing a path through something
- péniblement
- Painfully or laboriously, with great difficulty
- chemin
- Path, way, or road to follow
- épaisse
- Thick; feminine of 'épais', used of mud here
- pataugeant
- Wading or splashing through mud or water
- trébuchant
- Stumbling, nearly falling while walking or moving
- moments
- Moments, brief periods of time
- désarticulaient
- Were disjointing or coming apart at the joints
- jointures
- Joints, connecting points between bones or parts
- Chaque
- Each, every individual one in a group
- conducteur
- Driver or conductor of a vehicle
- laissait
- Was letting or allowing; imperfect of 'laisser'
- souffler
- To breathe, blow, or catch one's breath
- arrêtait
- Was stopping or halting something or someone
- prudent
- Careful, cautious, and avoiding unnecessary risk
- donc
- So, therefore, or then in logical sequence
- tout
- All, everything, or completely; very common word
- doux
- Gentle, soft, or mild in manner
- cheval
- Horse, a large animal used for riding
- intérieur
- Interior, inside of a vehicle or building
- secouait
- Was shaking something or someone vigorously
- violemment
- Violently, with great force or intensity
- trouvait
- Was finding or was located somewhere
- véhémence
- Vehemence, intense forceful expression or feeling
- peu
- Little, few, or not much of something
- commune
- Common, ordinary, or shared among many people
- niant
- Denying or refusing; present participle of 'nier'
- pût
- Could; subjunctive imperfect of 'pouvoir'
- gravir
- To climb laboriously up a steep incline
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